Note: One of a series of stories that will take a look back at some of the many titles won by Oklahoma Christian teams and individuals through the decades. Today's story is about the 2012 women's tennis duo that won the 2011 NAIA ITA/Rolex doubles national title.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 24, 2020) – Oklahoma Christian tennis coach Kris Miller often looked to Europe when recruiting players for the Eagles' uber-successful programs, and thus newcomers Hermon Brhane and Lucie Sipkova arrived at OC in fall 2010.

The duo of Brhane, from Dreieich, Germany, and Sipkova, from Pardubice, Czech Republic, quickly became one of the most prolific in the program's history. Although the pairing lasted only two seasons, it produced some spectacular results, including a national doubles championship.

Upon arriving at OC, Brhane soon established herself atop the Eagles' singles lineup, while Sipkova slotted into the No. 2 spot, with both ranked high in the NAIA. Sensing a good thing, Miller paired them together in doubles and that decision proved prescient.

As sophomores in fall 2011, they swept to a regional title in the annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association/Rolex National Small College Championships, the centerpiece of OC's fall schedule. In the regional title match, Sipkova and Brhane downed Oklahoma Baptist's Paola Costa and Lili Ferreira 8-4.

Brhane also won the regional singles title, beating Sipkova 1-6, 6-4, 10-3 in what media reports at the time described as a "hotly contested" match. The titles sent the OC teammates onto the ITA/Rolex national tournament in Mobile, Ala., to compete against the champions from seven other regions.

There, Brhane won her first two NAIA-bracket singles matches before falling 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 in the title match to Ana Veselinovic of Auburn-Montgomery (Ala.). But Brhane and Sipkova found more success in the doubles bracket.

The OC duo routed Trina Slapeka and Laura Vergara of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 6-1, 6-0 in the opening round, then took down Veselinovic and Jade Curtis of Auburn-Montgomery in the semifinals. Sipkova and Brhane won the first set 6-1, but dropped the second 7-5 before rebounding to win the tiebreaker 10-6.

The title match against Marie Boura and Erika Januskova of Fresno Pacific (Calif.) proved less of a challenge, as the OC duo won 6-3, 6-1. It was the second ITA/Rolex doubles national title in program history, following the 1997 crown won by OC's Michaela Kratochvilova and Luca Somorjai.

The NAIA bracket win propelled Sipkova and Brhane into the "Super Bowl" portion of the tournament, in which the champions from each small-college level – NAIA, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and junior college – faced off. The OC duo beat the NCAA Division III champs – Gabrielle Clark and Zahra Dawson of Emory (Ga.) – and reached the title match before falling 6-1, 6-1 to Kerrie Cartwright and Audrey Leitz of Tyler (Texas), the juco champs.

Brhane and Sipkova went on to post a 15-4 doubles record and earn NAIA All-America first-team honors (both for a second straight season) while leading the Eagles to an 18-4 record and a berth in the NAIA semifinals the following May, back in Mobile. Sipkova also made the prestigious Academic All-America At-Large second-team list, as chosen by the College Sports Information Directors Association of America.

Alas, the duo broke up after the spring 2012 season. Brhane transferred to NCAA Division I Oklahoma, where she found more success, making the All-Big 12 Conference singles and doubles team in 2013 and finishing in the top three in the Big 12 at No. 2 singles and No. 3 doubles in 2014.

Sipkova, meanwhile, transferred to NCAA Division II California (Pa.). In two seasons there, she twice earned All-America honors, being named as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference player of the year as a junior and the Division II Atlantic Region senior player of the year as a senior.